This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for review of computed tomographic (CT) exams, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for review of CT colonography exams.
Colon Cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related mortality in the US with an estimated 57,000 deaths in 2003. Colonic polyps form a pre-cancerous stage of the disease and their removal has approximately a 90% 5-year survivability rate of the patient. One way to screen for colon cancer is colonoscopy. However, colonoscopy has an acceptance of approximately 37% due to its invasive nature. CT Colonography is a useful application, which may increase the acceptance of colon cancer screening by minimizing the use of the invasive colonoscopy procedure to only those patients in which a CT Colonography exam reveals a desire for a follow up colonoscopy procedure. The reported sensitivity of CT Colonography is about 60–70%. It is desirable to increase the sensitivity of CT Colonography.